Chapter 62: Those Who Can Never Be Forgiven (13)

“Why did it come to this?”

“Serah, is something wrong?”

“It’s strange!! Why am I in the same tent as you?!”

A few hours ago, I had spoken words of comfort to the warrior out of concern. Now, night had fallen, and the sounds of beasts echoed endlessly. Luckily, we had Laura, who could use magic, so I wasn’t worried about danger. But the real problem was that the tent was for two people.

Naturally, Natalia and Laura could have shared a tent, or I could have slept alone with them. Anything but this—spending the night alone with the warrior.

Sure, I’d spent a night in the warrior’s bedroom before, but that had been an accident. Back then, I was too nervous to remember anything and exhausted from all the festivities. Besides, when I woke up, the warrior assured me nothing had happened.

But now? This was a two-person tent. It wasn’t designed for one person, let alone two people so close that if I leaned forward, I’d bump into the warrior’s face. How was I supposed to sleep like this?

“It’s weird! It’s weird! Laura, that woman, ran off when I asked to switch places! What did I do wrong?!”

“Um… Serah, they might hear you outside.”

“There’s a soundproof spell, isn’t there?!”

What a clueless idiot. Natalia and Laura must be bursting with pent-up desires by now. Why doesn’t he go to the other tent?

It was strange. Natalia wouldn’t meet my eyes, looking away and mumbling whenever I spoke to her. Laura wouldn’t even try to talk to me. And from a distance, I could see her muttering to herself like someone possessed.

Could this be the ‘See? There’s No Baby After All’ route? That specific event only triggers when a heroine’s training level is too high, and the warrior’s collection of magic stones is too low. In that scenario, neglected heroines start turning into yanderes, and the most trained heroine ends up… cutting open her own stomach.

I couldn’t forget the haunting ending line, “See? There’s no baby after all,” said with a blood-smeared grin. It still gave me chills.

Actually, most conditions for that route were already met. The only exception was that the most trained heroine, the Unyielding Rock, was already dead.

But still, Laura acting that way could only mean one thing: I must be the next highest-trained heroine. That’s ridiculous, of course. Shaking my head, I decided to deal with the problem in front of me first.

“Do you hate being with me?”

“Of course, I do!”

He looked like a puppy being abandoned by its owner. Why was he giving me that hurt expression?

“Are you insane? How can I be alone with a man…?”

I’ve lived in this world for seven years—seven long years. When I first woke up at the orphanage, I couldn’t understand their customs and was constantly bullied. After it was revealed I was a saint, I lived a cloistered life among nuns. Sure, there were people like the High Inquisitor Maleus and the Pope, but most of my time was spent under the supervision of strict teachers. I’d barely ever been around men.

Because of that, even though I still had memories of being male, I was far more comfortable sharing a space with women. Looking back, it was all because of the rigid rules of the Holy Kingdom. Those sweet voices constantly saying, “Saint, you shouldn’t do it this way,” or, “Don’t neglect your scripture studies, Saint.” I couldn’t even run away from those nuns…

Despite being reborn, I never even had a male friend—or a female one, for that matter.

“…I’ve always been a shut-in, even in this world. I haven’t been around men, so it’s uncomfortable.”

Honestly, I wanted to ask how I could share a tent with someone like him, who can’t even control his Charm Eyes. But tonight wasn’t the time for harsh words. I decided to leave it as an excuse for now. Half of it was true, anyway.

“Sorry… I wasn’t thinking. Maybe I should sleep outside instead? My clothes have a warming spell, so one night should be fine.”

“What? No! There’s no need for that… You’re not going to do anything weird, right?”

Natalia and Laura were probably asleep, and honestly, I didn’t like the idea of cramming into a tent with them either. As a long-time loner, I was sensitive to other people’s gazes. I could understand why that brat Natalia and that perverted knight Laura were avoiding me.

But sending the warrior outside while I used the tent alone wasn’t an option either. No matter how much he annoyed me, I couldn’t let him suffer outside in the cold. My personality might be harsh, but not that harsh.

“I promise. I won’t do anything until you’re ready.”

“What? Oh, uh… fine. I guess there’s no other choice.”

There’s no way he’d try to pull anything, right? A bit nervous, I drew a line down the middle of the tent and said firmly, “You can’t cross this line!” He nodded and started talking to me again. Feeling strange, I turned to face the wall.

“So, what was life like in the Holy Kingdom?”

“Um… Wake up at dawn, pray, attend service, memorize scripture… sleep again? Not a very exciting life.”

“Service? Did you lead them?”

“No, the old priests told me not to speak too much. I just sat there smiling silently.”

After I was chosen as the saint, one priest had said, “Saint, it’s better if you don’t talk too much.” His words still echoed in my memory. What was so wrong with my way of speaking? Because of that, I developed the habit of being as vague as possible while in saint mode.

But there was one person who never held back his praise for me—High Inquisitor Maleus.

At seventy years old, he still wielded a massive axe, overseeing the execution of heretics. Despite his fearsome reputation, he was kind to me, saying that my words felt sincere and unpretentious.

I spent all my free time learning how to use the sacred flames from him.

Looking back, maybe it wasn’t praise after all.

Still, I miss Maleus…”

“Maleus? He’s from the Holy Kingdom?”

“Yeah, a really kind grandpa. He used to say my flames could burn away any sinner in the world.”

“…Flames? Was he by chance…?”

“The High Inquisitor. He was in charge of the Inquisition. I’ll introduce you if we ever go to the Holy Kingdom!”

“…Serah, maybe we should delay going to the Holy Kingdom.”

“What? Oh, okay. If you say so…”

Suddenly, the warrior lowered his voice and suggested postponing our visit to the Holy Kingdom. Ah, maybe it’s because of the bad ending conditions? In the Holy Kingdom, an untrained saint betrays the warrior—that event must’ve made him wary.

Even so, aren’t we allies now? Shouldn’t we trust each other more by now?

“Are you scared?”

“…Yeah. The Inquisitor seems… intense.”

“Don’t worry. They’re good people, and I trust you. You don’t have to fear betrayal.”

“Really… you’re something else.”

That was the last thing he said before falling silent.

Well, he must’ve been exhausted.

I decided to let it go and try to sleep as well.